Chapter 98: Baba, Can We Fly?

Chapter 98: Papa, Do We Fly?

In the end, the dust-covered little cub was carried away by Amos.

They went to intercept the Hymn Organization starship that hadn't been completely destroyed.

Amos had received intelligence—Kaman and Mei Lun discovered that this starship fleet seemed to be a combined force from two different units.

In other words, this time, they might not only encounter high-ranking members of the Hymn Organization but also potentially encounter two high-ranking members simultaneously.

After all, the orders these two teams received were clearly different, but in the end, they all unified in trying to stall them, with some even charging into the contaminated zone.

In the past, Saint Cas would have been powerless against these desperate Hymn Organization members who rushed into the contamination.

But now it was different. With Xiao Chuzao here, along with Saint Cas's recent research on contaminated zones, they now had the means to counter them.

Fei Man was positioned at an outpost within the contamination, preparing to intercept.

Amos, carrying Xiao Chuzao, quickly moved to join her.

Meanwhile, the Ninth Army Group was withdrawing from the Training Planet.

Their attention was indeed drawn by the starships Finn had sent over.

As a result, no one detected the lone starship that had landed in an uninhabited area of the Training Planet.

Xi, panting heavily, slumped in the pilot's seat and glanced at the device button beside him.

Then, he turned away without expression.

The area was swarming with Saint Cas forces, and it seemed some members of the Crown Clan were present as well. However, whether distracted or not, Xi managed to avoid their attention.

He'd made it to the rendezvous point.

But the starships he was supposed to rendezvous with hadn't arrived—

Mainly because Xi didn't know that those starships had already walked right into the Crown Clan's trap. In the end, they had no choice but to flee chaotically, chased from behind and blocked ahead, charging into the contamination.

Xi tucked the communicator into his pocket, clutching the button in his hand, and closed his eyes.

But the next moment, his eyes snapped open, and he leaped up, rushing out of the starship.

A psychically-enhanced energy blast had already blasted into his starship.

Already weakened by contamination, the starship was now fragile and shattered instantly under the impact.

"Huh. Did he avoid it?"

The commotion was simply too loud.

Amid the swirling dust clouds, a slightly childish voice rang out, sounding deceptively cheerful but completely emotionless upon closer listening.

Xi narrowed his eyes, his gaze swept over the wreckage of the starship. The final device on board had been hit by the powerful attack and was now sparking and smoking.

That wasn't the psychic energy of the Crown Clan.

Xi thought.

Because the psychic energy had been channeled into the Energy Gun, blurring its signature traits. The Crown Clan wouldn't use Energy Guns this way, but such psychic energy—it was indeed strong, vaguely bearing traces of the Longlived race's signature.

Xi swiftly dodged through the billowing dust. Before the haze could settle, the two had already exchanged several blows without even glimpsing each other's faces.

Chao Huangmu hovered mid-air for a brief moment before sweeping a leg forward, his strike infused with spiritual power—yet it was forcefully blocked.

Even Chao Huangmu was slightly surprised.

He had come to assist in clearing the surrounding battlefield. His instructor, aware of his capabilities, had assigned them to handle separate zones without direct supervision.

Meandering into the area, Chao Huangmu spotted the unidentified starship landing. After a moment's appraisal, he confirmed it wasn’t a vessel from Saint Cas but rather a hostile trespasser in the nation’s controlled territory. Without hesitation, he attacked.

Yet, he hadn’t expected this.

With no outsiders present, Chao Huangmu rarely bothered to restrain his power—whether due to the seething frustration in his heart or the long-suppressed need for release.

But unexpectedly, his opponent was strong, though his spiritual energy fluctuated wildly—one moment fiercely aggressive, the next abruptly waning.

And something about him felt deeply unsettling.

Parrying Chao Huangmu’s strike, Xi flipped mid-air before landing cleanly.

Those pitch-black, emotionless eyes, like abyssal depths, locked onto Xi.

"Tsk tsk—"

Chao Huangmu grinned beatifically, scratching his head.

"Did I get rusty? No way—what *kind* of thing are you?"

He pushed off the ground with his foot, launching another assault.

This time, however, Chao Huangmu realized his foe was no easy mark. Discarding the Energy Gun, he channeled his formidable spiritual energy directly into his fists as he lunged at Xi.

Still smiling, bright-eyed as if making small talk rather than fighting to the death, Chao Huangmu quipped,

"You’re making this really difficult for me. If I can’t deal with you—"

His grin faded slightly as he closed in. The overwhelming force behind his strike forced Xi to grit his teeth and brace, yet the impact sent him skidding backward.

Now right in front of Xi, Chao Huangmu lifted his gaze. His smile vanished, replaced by a chilling, smothering void in his eyes—devoid of any other emotion. When he looked at people like this, it was somewhat unnerving.

"If I can’t handle you, how can I rightfully stand by Little Highness’s side? So—could you *be a dear* and just... go to sleep?"

Xi dodged back, hacking a wet cough as blood sprayed from his lips.

He glared at this unnatural foe.

"What the hell—"

His jaw clenched, his spiritual energy in that instant erupted outward.

Behind him, a flickering, indistinct black shadow wavered into existence—and the moment it did, Xi’s aura transmuted violently.

This was the power forcibly grafted into him by Zange’s laboratories.

In the entire star system, few experimental vessels survived such experiments, much less retained such power.

This forced empowerment was different from the Divine Grace Stone used by Zange’s higher-ups—it demanded far more from the body.

Which was why Xi had long forgotten peaceful sleep, his temper growing ever more fractious.

But Chao Huangmu took a step back, sensing the psychic energy, his expression blank as he stared at him: "An unpleasant presence—"

Chao Huangmu felt an unusual irritation.

So annoying—downright infuriating. Why can't these creatures just die already? If not for them, he should be happily aboard the returning starship with Little Highness right now.

Their psychic energies collided violently.

Xi went flying, and he too froze for a moment, realizing what had happened. Tumbling across the ground before scrambling up, he suddenly laughed.

"They claimed the Longlived race of the Soul Race had all vanished—"

Xi charged forward again.

"Seems one still remains, huh?"

His tone grew increasingly resentful as he glared with pure hatred at Chao Huangmu.

"You're from the Soul Race, aren't you?"

Without waiting for Chao Huangmu's reply,

Xi spoke again.

"No doubt—that disgusting, unstable psychic energy, and those emotions—the monsters of the Longlived Soul Race; apparently your kind isn't completely gone."

"..." Chao Huangmu had no memories of the past. Eyeing the shadow looming behind Xi, he slowly furrowed his brow. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Just another test subject suffering under the genes of your Longlived race—"

Xi laughed now.

The shadow at his back suddenly surged, wrapping around Chao Huangmu in an instant.

"The mythical Longlived Soul Race, who rivaled the Crown Clan, is indeed strong. But do you know why the Crown Clan scraped by this long while the Soul Race was wiped out so quickly?"

Chao Huangmu had intended to counterattack, but when the psychic energy coiled around him, he suddenly froze.

Something primal stirred within him, as if trying to break through a barrier, to seize control of his body.

"Because the Soul Race's psychic energy is too unstable. Even before the corruption arrived, you were always collapsing, erupting. You're an emotionless race—when you feel unsafe, you wouldn't hesitate to drag your own kind down with you—"

All of this was what Xi had read about the Soul Race in that lab prison. His laughter turned hysterical. Xi couldn't comprehend the existence of such a race, let alone accept that he'd been forced to become like them. He wasn't normal—that lab had driven him mad long ago.

"Just like this—you grow increasingly insane with time, with no escape. You're not like the Crown Clan. From the moment of your birth, you were always destined for destruction."

Xi watched as Chao Huangmu's body stiffened abruptly, exuding palpable menace. A monstrous silhouette seemed to solidify behind him—a manifestation of the Soul Race's psychic traits.

Xi coughed weakly a few more times. Though unsure of the exact situation, he'd somehow broken free. He couldn't stay here any longer.

Xi felt the communicator and detonator in his pocket.

He turned to search the starship for any way out.

Just as he found one and was inspecting it,

suddenly, Xi heard the faint beep—

The devices had been triggered—

It wasn't triggered by him, but by those Hymn Organization operatives, aiming to destroy the barrier within the contamination.

Xi swore.

The fragments of the device in the starship wreckage generated a massive surge of energy in that instant.

Meanwhile, Chao Huangmu was fighting to stay coherent as he lunged toward Xi.

But the energy shockwave sent both Xi and Chao Huangmu flying.

The entire sector of space began to tremble with a deafening rumble.

Xi barely managed to adjust his posture mid-air, using the shattered device and his own psychic energy to launch himself clear of the scene.

Chao Huangmu remained standing where he was, his jaw clenched.

His lost memories hadn’t returned, and his power still raged uncontrolled—only glimmers of memory surfaced in his mind.

As if someone was speaking to him.

*'An impure... half-breed—dump him—they're all monsters, don’t let another one like this be born, just kill him—'*

Such infuriating memories directly triggered Chao Huangmu’s emotions to erupt again.

At this moment, Chao Huangmu barely registered Xi’s escape. He tried desperately to control his volatile psychic energy—he didn’t fully understand his current state, but he knew he couldn’t stay like this. Someone was bound to arrive soon.

He had always managed perfectly before—

Whether it was smiling or any other emotion, he’d performed them perfectly.

Chao Huangmu gritted his teeth, struggling to retrieve something from his spatial storage that might help him.

Then, abruptly, his focus slipped—

His fingers brushed against a handful of candies and something cold and hard—the candies given to him by the Little Highness, along with the glittering gems and polished stones the Little Highness had gifted him after noticing his fondness for such things.

Only Zao Zao had realized how much he loved these sparkling treasures.

Zao Zao...

Emotion flickered through Chao Huangmu’s eyes.

"Chao Huangmu?!"

It was his instructor’s voice.

"What happened here?"

The instructor closed in from afar, followed closely by warships alerted to the disturbance.

Chao Huangmu, who had been silent on comms until now, slowly raised his head. His clothes were tattered, his body swayed slightly, and he coughed lightly, blood spilled from his lips.

The dark presence behind him had vanished completely.

"An unidentified intruder—he slipped through, but he shouldn’t have gone far."

"Fan out and search."

Upon hearing this, Ye Ming, the Ninth Army Group’s commander, barked the order.

"Yes, sir!"

"That kid of yours—unbelievable!"

The instructor dragged Chao Huangmu toward the medical area.

"Alright, no more work for you. Go rest early—what's wrong with you? Did they knock some sense into you? I told you not to be so arrogant. Sooner or later, someone would put you in your place—"

Chao Huangmu snapped back to reality, grunted, and finally managed a smile again, shook out his arm, regaining his composure.

"That still stings."

"Your two teammates were absolutely right—serves you right, you big oaf."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Struggling to leave the training planet, Xi, severely wounded, drifted in space.

His body was on the verge of collapse.

Xi closed his eyes, still pissed off.

But death? Just—

Xi opened his eyes again.

He wasn’t afraid. He had longed for it many times—

Just as Xi was lost in thought, a small starship approached him—Xi swore it was the first time he’d ever seen a small starship look so cautious and sneaky.

Then, the small starship extended a mechanical arm and grabbed him by the waist.

Xi: ?

The small starship took off like a shot, dragging him along—

Xi, nearly hurling from the whiplash: What the hell?! Just kill me already?!

Only after blasting out of the danger zone did the mechanical arm finally retract him inside.

Xi was half-conscious, eyelids drooping, as he heard a familiar female voice muttering nearby: "Hurry, hurry, file the report ASAP! Emergency extraction—only managed to grab the little boss before getting spotted. Ship's banged up, retreating under fire. Make sure to emphasize we did our absolute best!"

"Boss, we’ve got pursuers behind us!! They’re firing energy cannons!"

"What are you waiting for?! Punch it!!"

Goddamn it.

Of course it’s her again.

Xi thought bitterly.

Won’t even let me die in peace.

Shenghua gave him a once-over.

He looked like hell.

But honestly, this guy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed—which, for Shenghua, made him perfect.

Fortunately, he had the communicator she gave him. Their starship took a hit and was now limping along, barely managing to escape danger.

Shenghua shoved him into the Medical Pod, then glanced at his irritated, pale face before checking the data displayed on the pod.

"We came in a hurry—only got bread cakes for food. Want some?"

Xi: "......"

Xi didn’t want to engage with her.

Especially after such emotional upheaval and psionic outbursts.

But his body, deprived of food and rest for so long, acted on its own.

Xi: "......"

He heard Shenghua’s quiet laugh.

Xi: "......"

"...Eat."

If he still hadn’t managed to die, why not eat?

*

Meanwhile, on the other end of the galaxy.

The starship that had ventured into the contaminated zone was systematically boxed in.

The two chief operatives of the Hymn, Qian Xun and Temperance, were finally driven together.

Gritting their teeth, they searched for an escape, but before they could act again, a powerful psionic force struck from behind.

Their starship was hit.

Forcing them to crash-land on a nearby planet.

They white-knuckled the Divine Grace Stone.

Qian Xun, whose body possessed defensive abilities, was already warping as the Divine Grace Stone continuously sapped his energy.

Meanwhile, Temperance stared at the figure levitating midair not far away, holding a small child.

The one who had no business being here in the first place.

Through clenched teeth, he ground out the name: "A...mos—"

Though they had already entered the polluted zone, the pollution index here was low.

And Amos had closed in fast with the child.

Before they could forge further into the pollution, he had already cut them off.

Temperance immediately pressed the button of the device Xi had installed.

Even here, the shockwaves rattling this sector of the galaxy were audible.

It was unclear whether the barrier within the pollution had been ruptured.

But clearly, they had no bandwidth to consider that now.

As Amos completely blocked them off, the starships belonging to Saint Cas drifted over slowly like a shimmering school of fish in deep waters, establishing an impenetrable blockade of the entire area.

Amos was watching them, his crimson eyes unnervingly calm under the dim sky.

There was no emotion, not a flicker of emotion—less than what they themselves displayed.

In one hand, Amos held the faintly glowing Psychic Sword, while the other cradled the little cub he had prepared on the way.

Xiao Chuzao gripped the cupid's bow, and as he took a deep breath, the originally golden crown began seeping with Black Flame once more, its glow reflecting on Amos’ face.

At this moment, the oppressive aura from the two crowns of the Crown Clan was absolutely terrifying.

It gave them a real taste of what it meant to face the crowns of demons that brought fear and despair.

“Is that the stone?”

Amos clearly wasn't interested in these two.

His gaze fixed on the barrier that had emerged—Amos pondered, recognizing it as a long-forgotten psychic ability of a vanished Longlived race.

It seemed to be for defense.

But that hardly mattered now.

Amos had waited for so long.

Searched for so long—

This Divine Grace Stone.

“To think—we’d meet like this.”

Qian Xun sneered.

“As expected, you’ve already learned of the gods’ existence, of those omnipotent divine beings—”

“The Crown Clan, a race so irreverent toward the divine, will inevitably face destruction.”

Amos murmured to the cub in his arms.

“Got your aim set? Right there—”

But obviously, the desperate struggle of cornered beasts barely registered with Amos.

Compared to the Hymn Organization, some beings had better captured his hatred.

Fueling his impatience.

Xiao Chuzao gathered strength, took aim, and fired—

Three consecutive arrows, charged with oppressive energy, shot toward Qian Xun and Jiezhi.

These two were no pushovers either.

The cub’s two aimed arrows were dissipated by Amos’ psychic energy.

But the momentary pressure, the weakening of their psychic energy, combined with their bodies contorting—sent a jolt of fear through them.

What just happened?

"What just happened—"

What was Amos trying to do?

Qian Xun and Temperance were filled with dread and confusion.

Previously, it was Saint Cas who couldn't grasp what the Hymn Organization intended or what their so-called "deity" truly was.

But now, the roles were reversed.

Xiao Chuzao's tiny wings behind him trembled slightly without his realizing it.

The little one fidgeted.

Because he had failed to strike true.

But it really wasn't his fault—the opponents' abilities weren't weak to begin with, and the little one had undergone a full day and night of training, exhausting much of his strength. The little one was completely exhausted.

"Papa—"

The little one instinctively called out.

He didn’t know what calling out would achieve, nor did he understand what Amos could do for him.

But it was different from when they were in the Angelic Realm—the little one always felt that Papa would know what to do.

Xiao Chuzao shouted instinctively.

Amos reached out, holding the little one's fingers and placing them on the child's cupid's bow.

The slightly uneasy Xiao Chuzao instantly calmed down.

Amos's mental energy slowly spread over, and the arrow trailing Black Flame suddenly burned even brighter.

Amos showed no mercy—what kind of terrifying power was this?

For an instant, Qian Xun and Temperance were rendered speechless.

After truly witnessing the power of the Crown Clan at this moment, they even briefly doubted—could they even fight them?

Father and son released their arrows simultaneously. Arrows several times more powerful than before shot forth in an instant, slamming into one of their Divine Grace Stones.

The little one drew his bow again, and another arrow followed closely—one after another, they struck the Divine Grace Stones.

They weren’t aiming to kill. All along, Amos's goal had been clear—

The Divine Grace Stones.

The surrounding space began to distort.

The two's eyes widened in terror. Their hoods had already been torn apart by Amos's furious mental energy. Amos, holding the little one, had already arrived beside them, his wings tucked away with cold precision.

The two Divine Grace Stones shattered and twisted under Xiao Chuzao's power, unveiling an unknown world.

A tempest raged, threatening to consume them, but Amos, carrying his little one, advanced steadily. He raised his hand, and the Psychic Sword reappeared. Without so much as a glance, blood sprayed. Amos's eyes stayed locked on the strange, unfolding space.

—It was different from the scene that had appeared last time.

Xiao Chuzao knew exactly where this was, and he tensed.

"Baba?" [Childish term for "Dad"]

Amos stepped forward, following the twisting force of spatial distortion, and entered. Everything around them contorted as space itself twisted.

The darkness before them suddenly brightened, and they appeared midair, beginning to fall.

Amos surveyed their surroundings, softening their landing slightly before landing in a somewhat familiar place.

Everything went silent in an instant, broken only by the chirping of birds—until someone sensed something amiss and abruptly opened their eyes.

Meanwhile, Amos looked down at the little one in his arms.

Xiao Chuzao poked his head out, his fluffy, messy fur sticking out as he stared at Amos, hesitating.

Amos asked, "Scared?"

To the little one, this place might feel overwhelming.

The little one blinked, instinctively nestling closer to Amos. After a moment of hesitation, he glanced around before looking up at Amos and whispering, "*Baba*, why did we fall like that?"

Amos went completely still.

The little one flapped his tiny wings and added, "*Baba*, can’t we fly?"

Amos was speechless.

Amos rarely looked this bewildered.

And though they had just passed through a dangerous spatial rift—Amos shielding the little one, who remained unharmed—he himself was a mess.

Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal.

It was just—he’d been too angry to even think straight.